Strategic Education, Inc. (SEI), is an education services

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

and is formerly known as Strayer Education, Inc. The company owns for-profit,

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

Capella University Capella University is a private for-profit, online university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school is owned by the publicly traded Strategic Education, Inc. and delivers most of its education online. Capella has 52 degree progr ...

and

Strayer University Strayer University is a private for-profit university with its headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1892 as Strayer's Business College and later became Strayer College, before being granted university status in 1998. Strayer Univer ...

, as well as non-degree programs schools such as DevMountain, Hackbright Academy, and Sophia Learning.

History

In August 2018, Capella Education Company merged with Strayer Education, Inc., in a $1.9 billion deal. The two publicly traded parent companies combined corporate functions; however, the universities remain operating as separate institutions. Strayer shareholders control 52% of Strategic Education, while Capella shareholders control the other 48%. In July 2020, Strategic Education announced a series of acquisitions: Laureate Education, Inc.'s Australia and New Zealand operations for a reported $642 million; Torrens University in Australia and Think Education and Media Design School in New Zealand for a combined $900 million. Strayer University and Capella University collectively serve about 80,000 students.

Capella Education Company

The Capella Education Company was founded in 1991 by Stephen Shank, former CEO of Tonka Corporation. In 1993, it opened The Graduate School of America (TGSA). In 1999, the company and university were renamed to Capella Education Company and University. In 2003, the company was named to '' Inc.'' magazine's Inc. 500 Hall of Fame after being named one of America's 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies for the fifth year in a row. Prior to going public the company raised more than $67 million from private investors, including

Maveron Maveron is an American venture capital firm that invests in consumer-only and early-stage companies, with offices in Seattle, Washington and San Francisco, California. The firm was co-founded by Dan Levitan and former Starbucks chief executive Ho ...

. On January 8, 2005, Capella Education Co. said it had two new investors following deals totaling more than $60 million. The company announced its intentions to go public with an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

in April 2005. It reported 2005 earnings of $10.2 million on sales of nearly $150 million. On November 9, 2006, it completed a public offering that raised $80 million. In March 2008, Capella Education Co., longtime occupant the

225 South Sixth Capella Tower (also 225 South Sixth) is an office skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The building opened in 1992 as First Bank Place, replacing One Financial Plaza as the headquarters for First Bank System. In 1997, First Bank S ...

skyscraper in downtown

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, signed a new lease that changed the name of the building to

Capella Tower Capella Tower (also 225 South Sixth) is an office skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The building opened in 1992 as First Bank Place, replacing One Financial Plaza as the headquarters for First Bank System. In 1997, First Bank S ...

. The expanded facility housed all of the company's 1,150 downtown Minneapolis employees, since Capella, as the online school does not have classrooms, the space houses administrative staff and faculty. The name change took place in March 2009.Sam Black
Capella lease to rename 225 South Sixth
''Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal'', March 20, 2008. In July 2011, Capella Education Company acquired the UK based Resource Development International Ltd to gain access to the fast-growing international higher education market. In August 2015, RDI received approval in the UK to become the newly formed

Arden University Arden University is a private, for-profit teaching university in the United Kingdom. It offers a variety of undergraduate and post-graduate programmes with both blended and online distance learning delivery options. Its head office is in Co ...

in 2015. The following year Capella sold Arden University and its subsidiaries to

Global University Systems Global University Systems B.V. (GUS) is a private limited company registered in the Netherlands. As a corporate group, it owns and operates several private for-profit colleges and universities in the UK, Canada, Israel and Europe, as well as oth ...

. In April 2016, Capella Education Company acquired the software engineering school for women, Hackbright Academy and

coding bootcamp Coding bootcamps are intensive programs of software development. They first appeared in 2011. History The first coding bootcamps were opened in 2011. As of July 2017, there were 95 full-time coding bootcamp courses in the United States. The leng ...

, DevMountain.

Strategic Education, Inc.

Strayer Education Inc. was a publicly traded corporation, established as a

for the college and other assets in 1996. The company was created to take what was then Strayer College public and raise capital for expansion. Its corporate headquarters are in

Herndon, Virginia Herndon is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area of the United States. The population was 23,292 at the 2010 census. In 2020, the population was estimated to be 24,532, which makes it the largest of three i ...

. Karl McDonnell has been CEO since May 2013. McDonnell joined Strayer in July 2006, and was previously president and COO. Previous CEO Robert S. Silberman, who took the position in March 2001, was named executive chairman of the board. Between 2001 and 2005, the company's main owners were New Mountain Capital and a

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...

unit of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

, DB Capital. In 2021, Strategic Education's top shareholders are BlackRock, T. Rowe Price, and Vanguard Group. In 2009, Robert S. Silberman had a total compensation of $41.5 million, a large portion of which was restricted stock that does not vest until 2019. This was the highest compensation in the for-profit education industry and led in 2010 to the ''Washington Post'' naming him the most highly compensated CEO in the Washington, D.C., area. His annual compensation in 2010 was $1.5 million. In 2010, Strayer (STRA) shares peaked at $253. but the stock dropped to $34 in 2013. By June 2020, however, STRA shares had rebounded to $170 a share. In November 2021, shares are $61, dropping 35 percent for the year.

References

External links

Company Website
* Mark Reilly

''Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal'', November 10, 2006 * Evan Ramstad
Changing competition, technology pushed Capella and Strayer together
''Star Tribune'', August 4, 2018 {{Authority control For-profit universities and colleges in the United States Education companies of the United States Companies listed on the Nasdaq 1991 establishments in Minnesota